A team from Badalpur Police Station in Greater Noida arrested the accused after carrying out their investigations, said Jaiswal.

New Delhi: A man has been arrested for allegedly pretending to be an IAS officer in order to get the work of his relatives and friends done, said police on Saturday. The accused identified as Mani Tyagi, who is in his late 20s, was caught impersonating as an IAS officer. Tyagi had allegedly called up the Gautam Buddh Nagar (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal asking him to get a particular task done quickly, stated officials.

Suspicious of the call, the officer immediately tracked the phone number through surveillance team and found that the call was made from Ghaziabad. “At times he (accused) would say he is a district magistrate posted in Tripura and cite his batch and cadre to build pressure on police officials,” said Jaiswal. Eventually, a team from Badalpur Police Station in Greater Noida arrested the accused after carrying out their investigations, added Jaiswal.

Tyagi is a resident of Sahibabad in Ghaziabad. The BA graduate claims that he is a supervisor in a private company. However, the police officer said that the statement is yet to be verified. Tyagi reportedly confirmed of misusing the name of an IAS officer, a distant relative of his, currently posted in Tripura.

“I have only done it a few times to help some people with their work, I have never taken money from anyone,” said Tyagi. Apparently, the accused had called up Jaiswal, officials in a sales tax office and Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow. A case has been registered against Tyagi for fraud and related offenses and remanded in judicial custody, the police said.

In a similar case of impersonation on September this year, a Bihar-based criminal living in Gadabasa area of Bagbera police station was arrested. Using a fake identity, the accused had allegedly impersonated senior officials of different states and extorted money from businessmen and contractors.